Gleebooks
Gleebooks is generally regarded as Sydney’s best bookshop. The aisles are
packed with politics, arts and general fiction, and staff really know their stuff.
Its annual literary program attracts big-name locals (such as Tim Winton and Michael
Leunig) and international writers. Children’s and secondhand books are at their
other store.
Read more about Gleebooks
Paddington Markets
Join the throngs for a foot massage, a tarot reading or a funky clubbing shirt.
Sydney’s most well-attended weekend market coughs up everything from vintage clothes
and hip fashions to jewellery, books, massage and palmistry. Parking is a misery –
take public transport.
Read more about Paddington Markets
Queen Victoria Building
Unbelievably, the grand ol’ QVB (1898) was repeatedly slated for demolition
before it was restored in the mid-1980s. It’s a high-Victorian masterpiece occupying
an entire city block. Sure, the 200 speciality shops are great, but check out the
wrought-iron balconies, the Byzantine copper domes, the stained-glass shopfronts,
the mosaic floors, the replica crown jewels, the ballroom, the tinkling baby grand
and the hyperkitsch animated Royal Clock (featuring the Battle of Hastings and an
hourly beheading of King Charles I). Outside there’s an imposing statue of Queen Vic
herself; nearby is a wishing well featuring a bronze replica of her beloved pooch,
Islay (which disconcertingly speaks in the baritone voice of former radio shock-jock
John Laws). Informative 45-minute tours
depart the concierge desk on the ground floor.
Read more about Queen Victoria Building
Gavala Aboriginal Art Centre
Selling only authentic Aboriginal products that are licensed, authorised or
purchased directly from artists or communities, Gavala stirs up a prepackaged
outback vibe and has a mind-boggling gallery of paintings, hunting boomerangs,
didgeridoos, handmade artefacts, books, clothing and CDs.
Read more about Gavala Aboriginal Art Centre